Traction-motor.



VPATENTED DEC. 3, 1907. P; L. EMERSON. P TRACTION MOTOR. APPLICATIONFILED JAN. 18, 1907.

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PATENTED DEC. 3, 1907. F. L. EMERSON, TRACTION MOTOR. APPLICATIONPIYLIBD JAN. 18, 1907.

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WITNESSES:

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" F. L. BMBRSON.

TRACTION MOTOR; APPLICATION FILE!) 1,311,141, 1907.

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having teeth adapted with i rrnn s riifiis l ltANli L. EMERSON. OF MUUNIAIN V IEW, CALIFORNIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eaten'ted es. s, 1907.

Application filml January 1&1907- ?,erial Nu. 352.929.

Slate oi tnlil'ornia, have invented new and useful inmrovenu-nts inTraction-Motors oi which the i'ollowiiw' is a s )eciiication. F

My invention relates to a device which. i have calleil n traction motor"it consists in the combination of mechanism and in details ofconstriu-tion which will he more lull explained by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side. elevation of myapparatus. Fig. l is a section taken through X- -X of Fig. l and lookingto the front. Fig. 3 is a plan view of my apparatus. Fig. 4 is a topview of front gear wheel and clutch. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of thegearing of one frontwheel. Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views of the rearwheel transmission. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic View of the steeringmechanism.

It is the object oi my inventionto provide an apparatus mounted uponWheels'carirying its own mot-oighaving connections by which power may be&]3l )li(l to (i We each of the wheels; means by which a forward iirivcmay he applied to all of the wheels; means by which the drive mechanismmay he reversed without reversing the ,motor, and means by which thereversed motion may he applied to one or more of the wheels, and the,

forward (lrhe of the other Wheels disengaged.

A. is'the rear and B the front portions of the frame. These frameSections may he made of channel or angle iron of any suitable or Thefront section is sup ported upon a pair of wheels C, the rear portion oftherear section is sumwrteii upon. wheels 1). 'lhese' wheels are allturnahio loosely upon their spindles, as is well shown at 2, in Fig. 2.These spindles QHGGXiQDi'if-Ed and have upturned portions 3 atsubstantially right angles with ilk? horizontal por-- tion upon whichthe wheels turn. Surrounding the upturned shafts 3 sleeves i, which arefixed to the framesections to which they appertain, and the drivemochan. ism is applied to and thrinigh the as f, llows: The interiorperipheries of the wheels have gear teeth 5, and upon iii-e upper endsof the sle a es, i Id-f9 wheels 5 l teeth 5 of the hearing wheels. Anydesired or well known Form of gear teeth may be useil in ihisconnection. I have here shown what are known as crown gear, havinground- ((l teeth which will engage with the cone spending ieeth oi thehearing wheels.

The connection between the wheels 6 and the siee-ves i is eil'ecteil omeans of s. suiialile form of clutch capable of acting in one-directionand releasing to turn freely in the opposite direction. Such a clutch Ihave shown at '7, Fig. l, in which balls or rollers are contained inpockets in the hub or interior portion of the wheels 6, and the poohetsare wide enough at one end to allow the gear in turn freely withrelation to the sleeve in one di ection, hut to hind when turned in theother direction so that the sleeve and wheel will. turn together. Thisheing a well .known form clutch ainl not claimed as novel.

Upon the sleeve and as shown at or (sent beneath the wheel 6 is abeveled pinion S which is cngagei h a correspoinlingpinion upon shorizontal shaft i) which is journaled across the front ortion of theframe B; and when this shaft is rew olve-(i in one direction it willcause the clutches T to engage with the sleeves 4, thus riwolvin e them,and ilnougzh the toothed wheels ii to drive ih lvaring wheels C. for anyreason it is tlOSilCtl to reverse the movement of the an; satns will hehereafter described. it will be seen theta when the machine luiclieil,these clutches will he released and allow the hearine; wheels (7 to turniilie powerheing applieil only ie the i "iieis io cause the machine totravel ham i I Upon the shaft 9 is and this is ens l a similar gearii,which mounted ugion a snail; 12 extending hm izcontel v from einl toeinl of, the apparatus. "i is shell. 12 through a sleeve 13 whichcarried at the junction of he frames A and B and this sleeve beingrigidly fixed to one part of ihe frame as A, the other poriion B is soconnect d as to be turnahlc about the longisuilinal' is of the shaft 12.This allows the front whee C anal the rear wheels ll of the machine toiiecoinniodato theinseives to ir'regl ulsrities of the suface overwnichthey traveling: without any strain upon an portion of the machinery, aswil he zen.

' said shaft in a direction which will propel the" intermediatemechanism and thus drive all a motor 13 which may be ofany desireddescription; In the present case I have indisim lar to those previouslydescribed.

cated a double opposed horizontal engine mounted transversely of theframe A and the crank-shaft '14, of this engine enters a gear case 15within which are "suitable transmission gears engaging similar gearsupon the shaft 9, thus transmitting motionto drive four of the wheels Cand D rection. I v

If it is desired to reverse the car, it is ef fected by means ofthe'usual intermediate in a-forward disliding gear set, whichis operatedby a lever.

16, so that the direct driving gear may be disengaged and anintermediate gear thrown into mesh to reverse the motion ofthe shaft Themotion of this shaft is transmitted to the rear-wheel shaft 9 by abeveled gear 10* from the driving shaft 12. The power from this shaft istransmitted through the toothed wheels 6 to. the interna gears of thebearing wheels D in the same manner as has been'dcscribed for .the frontwhee s; but in order to drive these wheels 6 in either direction, I haveshown two sets of ball-clutoll ies 4 he upp :r set 7 are so constructedin the ball pockets, that when the shaft isbeing driven so as to a plymotion to all the wheels in aforward irection, these balls will engagewith'the sleeves 1 as previously described. Below these, is another setof ball cases as at 7, and these are set in the reverseldirection sothat they will engage the parts 'to. be driven when the shaft 12 isturned in the o p'osite direction. In order to allow thisto e donewithout interfering with the up er clutches 7, these upper clutches mustbe 'sengaged, and this disengaging is effected by means ofa turnabledisk 17, which is'inounted axially with the shift 3, and which has pins18 projecting downwardly into the line .ofpath of the balls 7, so thatby turning this the pins will push the balls intothe Wider portions oftheir pockets, thus-disengaging them-so that they have no effect inturning the toothed wheels 6 and the clutch.

balls 7 located below and acting in the o posite direction, 'willengageand turn the isks m the op' osite dIIGCtlOIl, thus reversing the motionof one or both of the rear wheels D. It will be found that the reversemovement -can be eflected by the use of only one of the bearing wheels,which may sometimes be found possible. 1

The .disk- 17 has notches formed on its edges as shown at 19, and aspringpawl 20 carried upon the toothed-wheel 6 is so disdesbl'lbedilatch will fall into one of the osed that when the disk has been turnedto 'sengage the upper clutch, as previously erases other so t at theupper clutch may be in engagement again for the forward motion by 7tmeans of a tooth 21 projecting so that on the commencement of theforward motion which will'be effected by the propulsion of the forwardwheel C, the turning of the disk will move this tooth so as to disen agethe spring pawl 20 and allow the toothecTwhel 6 to resume' its normalposition with the front driving clutch in engagement. Steering maybeeffected in various ways. In Fig. 8 have shown a device'in which avertically disposed steering post 22, (also shown in Figs. 1 and 3) hasa steering wheel 23 upon the upper end. At the bottom is a drum. 24around which may be coiled oneor two turns of a' rope or cable 25. Thefront '.end of this cable passes around a similar drum 26 carried uponthe front portion .of the frame so that by-turning the hand-wheel,motion is transmitted to turnthis drum 26. Around this drum is coiledanother cable 27,

each end of which connects with an arm 28 which projects from thesteering knuckles, so-called, of each of the forward wheels C.. Thus byturning the hand-wheel in one direction, the cable 27 will be caused tocoil around the drum-26 and will pull .upon one of the crank-arms. orlevers 28." 1 g A rigid bar 29 extends between these two crank-arms orlevers, and the pull upon the cableulling upon one of the levers, actsthrough this rigid arm to push the other one, thus turning both of thefront wheels so that steering may be effected. As the front and rearframesA and B are turnable with rela- 1 tion to each other, I have-shown an idler pulley 40" mounted upon a ielding spring 41 and thecable 25 passing. eneath this pulley will yield to conform to thetilting of the frames.

This apparatus may be employed for .varione purposes. l/Vhen-employedfor orchard, or farming work, as is illustrated in the resentconstruction, it is sometimes found esirable to turn the front wheelsand the hind ently, in which case. Ihave shonm 'a second steeringlwheel34 mountedupon a steeriri wheel s aft 35 nearthe rear of the mach ne.

wheels in opposite directions so as to make a erases I claim. and desireto secure. by Letters Pat out, is-- i. in a. traction ap aratus, alraiue,

Wheels turnahle upon a at the front and rear, said wheels havinginternal. gear teeth around their peripheries, a motor turned upon theframe, and mechanism lwtween the inoto and said Wheels whereby thewheels may be driven imlependeutly. said mechanism comprising gearsengaging the teeth of said wheels and mounted on vertical axes. 2. inctraction apparatu the combination of a' mam irame, rear wheels ournaledand independently turnahle thereon, a. frontframc having a pair ofwheels journalcal and independently turnahh thereon, a longitudinal.central connection between the front and rear frames whereby the 1 noare turnable independently about a longitudinal axis, a motorcarriedupon the frame. and connections between the motor and said wheels foroperating the latter, said connections comprising internal gear Keel haround the periph cries of the Wheels and a vQl'tlUlllly-jtill!- naledgear wheel for each wheel engaging the teeth Of'lllt latter.

3. In a traction apparatus, the combination of front and rear frameshaving bearing Wheels, said wheels having gear teeth around theirperipheries, a. sleeve fixed horizontally to one of said frames andhaving a turnable connection with the other, a motor upon the mainframe, a counter-shaft passing through said sleeve, means for drivingsaid shaft from the motor, a transverse shaft journaled on the forwardframe and mcanswheroby said shaft is driven from the oountcr-shaft, a

-vertically-journaled shaft at each end of the transverse shaft, havingagear wheel to engage the teeth of the adptcent hearing wheel, andconnections between the ends of said counter-shaft and the verticalshafts;

4. in a traction apparatus, main and sup;

plcn ntal frames connected. and turnahlc about a horizontal centrallylocated sleeve,

bearing wheels having internal gear teeth around the peripheries,vertically journaled gears engaging the teeth of the wheels, atransversely journaled horizontal shaft, gears whereby motion istransmitted from said shaft to turn the wheels, driving gears, alongitudinally journaled unter-shaft passing through the jointconmwitions of the frames,

.beveled gears whereby motion is transmitted to the transverse shaft,and motor connections to drive the countershaft.

5. In a traction apparatus, a mainframe, a supplemental frame, a hollowsleeve forming a joint connection about which said frames are turnable,hearing wheels journaled upon the front and upon the roar framesrespecscribed,

tivcly, said wheels having internal gear teeth near the periphery,vertical shafts and sleeves turnahle thereon, said sleeves oarryinggearwheels which engage the teeth of the hearing wheels, transverse shaftswith beveled gear connections to revolve the sleeves and gear wheels, alongitudinal countcrshaft passing through the sleeve connection ofthoframes having gears at opposite ends engaging gears upon the transversewheel driving shafts, a motor located upon the main frame,

and gearing whereby motion is transmitted therefrom to drive thecountershaft.

ti. ln'a traction apparatus, main and supplemental frames withindependently turnahle bearing wheels journaled thereto, said wheelshaving internal teeth,vertically turnable sleeves having gear wheels,theteeth of which engagethose of the bearing Wheels, clutch n'iechanismscarried by the gear wheels and ada ted to interlock with the sleevesupon wiich the gear Wheels are mounted to transmit motion to said gearsin one direction, transverse shafts and hoveled gears throughwhichmotion is transmitted to the vertical sleeves and a longitudinallyjournaled eountershaf-t with gea-rs con neetin with the front and reartransverse wheel driving shafts, a motor, and connec-..

tions through which power is transmitted to the countersluift, areversing mechanism and .rwersing clutch devices connecting'with therear wheels wherehy the apparatus may be caused to run" in the oppositedirection and the rorward driving clutches disengaged.

' 7. In an apparatus of the character demain and supplemental ,wheelframes, centrally journaled and turnable with relation to each other,gears and forwardly driven clutch mechanisms whereby motion istransmitted to revolve the Wheels in a forward direction, a secondclutch mechanism for each of the rear wheels adapted to drive saidwheels in the reverse direction, rilans for disengaging tho forwardlyacting clutches and engaging the reversing clutches simultaneously, andreversible propelling mechanism.

8, In an apparatus of the character described, main and supplementalframes having a central longitudinal sleeve about which the frames areturnahle with relation to each other, a driving shaft passing throughsaid sleeves from front to rear, steering knuckles having horizontalbearing and driving ,Wheels journaled thereon, said knuckles havingvertical shafts at substantially right angles with the Wheel bearingportion, sleeves turnable upon said shafts, gears carried upon saidsleeves and engaging the internal gear teeth of 'lidB hearing wheels, aclutch mechanism whereby the gear Wheels are engaged with the sleevesand propelled by such engagement to drive the hearing Wheels, a transverse shaft, gears connecting the ends of the I ing wheels looselyturnable thereon,

ing knuckles having vertical shafts carried on -,..the frames withtu'rnable knuckles, a turning mechanism comprising drums, flexiblecables passing around the shaft with the sleeves, other gears connectingthe propeller shaft with the transverse shaft, and steering mechanism bywhich the wheels may be turned about the vertical shafts as a center ofmotion.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of mainand en plemental franies, horizontal shafts having earsteergear carryingsleeves through which motion istransmitted to drive the wheels,lever-arms connected withthe steering knuckles and having a rigidconnection between each pair of steering drums and connecting with thesteering 1a 'v er, anda' wheel by which said drums are turned, andcables moved to turn the bearing wheels.

10. In an apparatus of the character de-- steering knuckleserasesbetween the front and rear steering knuckles whereby the two may beturned in unison, and a steering wheel and intermediate .connections 11.In an apparatus of the character described, independent front and rearframes having a central longitudinal connection about which they areturnable, frontand rear bearin wheels journaledupon the two frames andaving internal teeth, gear wheels enga i driving sleeves upon which theyare carried, oppositely arranged clutches connecting the sleeves of therear wheels, a means by which said clutches are disengaged during theforward movement of'the machine, means b which theforward drivingclutches of the the said teeth, clutch mechanisms by w 'c said gearwheels are engaged with" rear wheels are disengaged and the rear driv-'-t ing clutches engaged, a motorand-cou'ntershaft through which motion istransmitted to drive all the wheels in a forward direction, andreversing gears whereby the reversing movement may be transmitted tothejrear wheels when the forward driving clutches are disengaged.

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. a I

- FRANK L. EMERSON. Witnesses:

E. L. EMERSON, R. P. VAN ORDEN.

